Lost ski areaNew HampshireWhite MountainsNortheast
The Balsams Wilderness
Ran 1966–2011. The ski area of the Balsams grand hotel in Dixville Notch, open from 1966 until the resort closed in 2011, with plans since to rebuild it.
Overview
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Imagery: USGS The National Map · Terrain: Mapzen, USGS and others
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Lift skiing at the Balsams, the grand hotel in Dixville Notch, began in the winter of 1956–57 with a 1,000-foot rope tow. The Wilderness ski area opened on December 26, 1966, with a 3,210-foot double chairlift and a 750-foot T-bar for beginners, and Governor John King came for its dedication before the 1967–68 season.1
Read the whole historyTodayThe resort remains closed while its developers seek financing for a rebuilt hotel and a larger ski area. (2025)2,3
Timeline
8 events · swipe
Memories
Skied The Balsams Wilderness, or worked there?
Tell us what you remember, or what this page has wrong. Memories show here, credited to you, after we read them; facts are checked against a source before they change a figure.
Lost near The Balsams Wilderness
The closest other lost ski areas, as the crow flies.
- 1972–1982 · 46 mi away · MaineA ski resort on Adams Mountain in Stoneham, Maine, with three chairlifts, open from 1972 to 1982 apart from one idle winter.
- 1963–1981 · 50.3 mi away · New HampshireA ski area in Jackson, in the Mount Washington Valley, that ran from the 1960s until 1981 with a double chair, a T-bar and a Poma.
- Years not yet collected · 55.3 mi away · New HampshireRussell's Slope, run by Russell's Inn in Kearsarge, was skied on foot in the 1930s and had a rope tow from the late 1940s.
History
Written by aurora.ski from the 3 pages below, each sentence numbered to its sources.
Lift skiing at the Balsams, the grand hotel in Dixville Notch, began in the winter of 1956–57 with a 1,000-foot rope tow. The Wilderness ski area opened on December 26, 1966, with a 3,210-foot double chairlift and a 750-foot T-bar for beginners, and Governor John King came for its dedication before the 1967–68 season. A second T-bar, serving the lower two thirds of the mountain, followed in 1969–70.1
In 1977 four of the hotel's managers formed the Balsams Corporation, and by 1978–79 the area claimed to be the first in the country to run on wood-burning energy. The aging lifts were modernized after the 2001–02 season. New England Ski History lists two triple chairs and surface lifts on a 1,000-foot vertical; Wikipedia counts 16 trails, five glades and a terrain park. The last active partners retired after 2004–05.1,3
The 2010–11 winter was the last, and the resort closed in 2011 after years of falling guest counts. Parts of the hotel were taken down in a controlled burn in January 2013. Developer Les Otten has planned a much larger ski area with new chairlifts; in January 2025 a 2023 approval for the Wilderness Ski Area was extended to 2030 while financing was still being sought.1,2,3
TodayThe resort remains closed while its developers seek financing for a rebuilt hotel and a larger ski area. (2025)2,3
Timeline
- 1956A 1,000-foot rope tow brings lift skiing to the Balsams1
- 1966Wilderness opens December 26 with a double chairlift and a T-bar1
- 1969A second T-bar is added for the 1969–70 season1
- 1977Hotel managers form the Balsams Corporation1
- 2002The aging lift system is modernized after the 2001–02 season1
- 2011The resort closes after the 2010–11 ski season1,2,3
- 2013Parts of the facility are taken down in a controlled burn1
- 2025Approval for the Wilderness Ski Area extended to 20302
Sources for this history (3)
- 1New England Ski History · Balsams Wilderness Ski Area History
- 2The Balsams Resort · Balsams Resort approvals extended amid financing efforts (January 19, 2025)
- 3Wikimedia Foundation · The Balsams Grand Resort Hotel
Photos
No photographs of The Balsams Wilderness we may republish yet
Its old photos and trail maps live on the sites that collected them, and Google finds the rest.
Memories
What skiers remember of The Balsams Wilderness, in their own words.
Facts
Location
44.8572° N · 71.3212° W · New Hampshire · White Mountains
OpenSkiMap lists it as abandoned.
Years operated
1966–2011
Closed after the 2011 season. It stays here as part of the record of U.S. ski areas.
Its numbers
all 2all 2, in one list
Terrain contours: USGS 3D Elevation Program, public domain